Brad (Sam Rockwell) and Abby (Vera Farmiga) Cairn have a seemingly picture-perfect life. Brad is a successful stockbroker, their son, Joshua, is a child prodigy, and Abby has just given birth to a baby girl. Ominous cracks soon begin to appear on the surface of this pretty picture. Pets mysteriously die, the baby will not stop crying, and Joshua develops an interest in mummification. The incidents may be coincidental, or Joshua's intelligence masks an extremely evil heart.